At least two patients died and 190 patients had to be shifted out when fire broke out in multi-storey building of a private hospital in Warangal, 250 kms north east of Hyderabad.
The fire broke out in Rohini Hospital building on Monday evening when workers were replacing an Oxygen Cylinder in operation theatre on third floor. “Suddenly oxygen started leaking and fire broke out engulfing the operation theatre.
Smoke also entered the other rooms", said a hospital worker. Panic spread as the emergency fire fighting system including fire hose failed to work. Doctors and other staff who were operating upon a 50 year old patient J Kumara Swamy fled the operation theatre and by the time the patient could be rescued and shifted out he had died of suffocation. Another patient Mallamma, who was shifted to government MGM hospital died while undergoing treatment.
The State Government has ordered the district fire officer Keshavulu to conduct a thorough probe into the cause of the fire and the State of preparedness to deal with the fire accident in the hospital.
190 patients were evacuated and shifted to the other hospitals in city by 30 ambulances after fire services personnel reached the place.
While relatives of the deceased, Kumara Swamy blamed doctors, staff for leaving the patient unattended for thirty minutes, doctors expressed their inability to do anything as fire had spread very fast.